Chapter Seventeen
Alessandra
Dinner was really good. Of course, I was learning that there really weren’t many things that Joel couldn’t do. Which was both irritating and amazing.
I hated cooking, but I did it. Jenson knew he wasn’t getting anything super fantastic when it came to my cooking, but he ate it like a trooper and carried on. We both loved it when Mom and Dad would come to visit and cook. My mom was a great cook.
After dinner was over, we went outside and hung out by the fire pit. Jenson went to the water and played around with a boogie board. Joel and I just sat there, watching him and enjoying the breeze.
“He’s a good kid.”
“Yeah, he can be a punk sometimes. But I love that little asshole.” I thought about how he was growing up so fast.
“Ever thought of having kids?” I turned to look at Joel’s face, curious. We were still getting to know each other. This was a normal question to ask someone of our age.
“Yep. Love those little assholes.” He winked at me, and I wanted to roll my eyes, but didn’t.
“You want anymore?” he asked, and I scoffed. The thought of having another kid was insane. But then again, I took care of Jenson pretty much by myself and it hadn’t been easy, particularly given how young I was when I had him.
“Maybe, if I wasn’t alone.” I didn’t want to see his face after my answer. Talking about Jenson’s dad wasn’t something I wanted to do right now. Joel didn’t say anything, obviously getting that I didn’t want to go into it. But it was still nice that he didn’t push it.
We sat there together, holding hands, because Joel was not letting me be close without one body part touching. As soon as Jenson came back to sit around the fire and warm up, Joel’s friends opened the slider and joined us.
I instantly recognized the tall man with the blond hair from the bar. He was there with Joel when we had our first encounter. He was a good-looking guy, but I wasn’t drawn to him like I was to Joel.
When his cute little blonde girlfriend bounced over to give Joel a hug, I felt myself smiling along with her. She was like a little ray of sunshine. Then I recognized her as the woman in the picture that I saw online before. Hugging Joel on the beach. She was that petite blonde woman.
“Hiya. I’m Livia, Killian’s girlfriend.” She came in for a hug, and I hugged her back.
“I’m Alessandra.” I gave no other indication of who I was, because I wasn’t sure if I had a title. But Joel, being the sweet man he was, gave me one.
“She’s my unofficial girlfriend and future wife.” He leaned over to give me a kiss for show, and I turned my head so all he met was my cheek, which he still kissed anyway.
“Oh. Well, that is very exciting!” Then she turned around to ask Jenson his name, and he was blushing, but muttered his name. Aw… my little boy was getting all flustered around Livia. She was very pretty, so I would say he has good taste. She was just very taken.
Killian wrapped his arms around her and sat back in a chair with her in his lap. He said “hey” to all of us, but that was it.
We all chatted about fun adventures we had been on. Killian was a truck driver, and Livia was riding around with him while she was working on her graphic design business, which I thought was pretty cool.
She talked to me about books, and asked me if I was a reader. I shook my head. The look on her face when I said I wasn’t much of a reader—her expression was as if I’d told her I had cancer. She quickly launched into describing some of her favorites in different genres, until Killian reined her back in a little.
I wish I read more, but I was just too tired after working all day, and then taking care of Jenson. The last book I remember reading was Jenson’s science book, because I wanted to help him with his homework and couldn’t remember any of that shit from school.
Killian wasn’t much of a talker, but I could see he was a good man. He was gentle with Livia, and he really cared for Joel. They were best friends to the max. A movie star and a trucker. A friendship like theirs surviving the fame game gave me hope.
Jenson enjoyed asking Killian tons of questions about where he’s been and what cool things they had done on the road. Killian and Livia were living life to the fullest,and that was really beautiful. I liked to think I was living life as best as I could.
When we all called it a night, I felt like something in me had changed. If Joel was truly serious about trying to date me, I would let it happen. Yes, he was an actor, and I knew how well he could act. But I had faith that he was being real with me.
I kissed Jenson goodnight and then took a shower, getting ready for bed. Except I didn’t go to my bed.
Instead, I acted like a teenager, sneaking into her boyfriend’s room and praying she wouldn’t get caught by her parents.
I really hoped Joel wasn’t teasing me when he said that this was his bedroom door, otherwise this was going to be awkward.
I slid inside the door and closed it quietly.
When I turned around to look for Joel, I didn’t have to go very far. He was standing about seven feet away from me, a towel wrapped around his waist.
